This Day in History


Boris Yeltsin Elected President of Russia (1991)
Yeltsin served as Russia's first democratically elected president. His successful opposition to the August Coup shifted power to the reformers and republics, and Yeltsin helped found the Commonwealth of Independent States, ending attempts to preserve the Soviet Union. His reform program consisted of the mass privatization of state-run enterprises. Soon after the program was instituted, the country experienced inflation, heavy taxes, and a protracted economic depression. Who succeeded Yeltsin? More...